A century on from Stonehenge sale. English Heritage welcome families to Stonehenge during half term.

ENGLISH Heritage is welcoming families to Stonehenge during the October half term next week to take part in an interactive, theatrical performance which will take families back one hundred years to the dramatic auction of 1915 where Stonehenge was put up for sale!

On September 21, 1915, the New Theatre in Salisbury’s Castle Street was packed out as London auctioneer, Sir Howard Frank, gazed down from his rostrum as he desperately tried to drum up interest among the assembled bidders for the country’s greatest prehistoric monument – with the ancient stones eventually being sold for just £6,000.

Last month English Heritage marked the 100th anniversary of Stonehenge – the most iconic prehistoric monument in Europe – being sold off one that historic auction to local Wiltshire man Cecil Chubb. The auction marked a turning point in the care of the ancient monument. A series of major restorations and excavations began a few years later and Stonehenge went from isolated ruin to national treasure. Today it is cared for by English Heritage, and thanks to extensive work now sits within a restored landscape that gives a sense of its original setting.
Now families are being invited to come and play their part and help bring the monumental historical moment to life in this centenary year, with this fun theatrical performance – specially developed for English Heritage by historical theatre company Time Will Tell who encourage audiences to learn about history by becoming active participants within their amusing and thought provoking theatre. The play is in two parts and is set to take place outside the visitor centre by the Neolithic Houses, every day of half term from Monday 26th October to Sunday 1st November, between 10am and 4pm.
As the custodian of over 400 historic monuments, buildings and sites throughout the country, English Heritage’s endeavours to bring the story of England to life for over 10 million visitors each year and it is hoped that the latest activities at Stonehenge next week will offer children a fun way of learning about one of the world’s most fascinating prehistoric monuments. 

The Stonehenge exhibition and visitor centre will also be open to entertain the most inquisitive of minds and there is also the opportunity to pick up a family audio tour, explore our reconstructed Neolithic Houses and imagine what life would have been like for a Neolithic family four and a half thousand years ago!
For further information about the fun at Stonehenge and other events during the school half term and throughout autumn and winter visit the English Heritage website at www.english-heritage.org.uk
Jez Gale, Chief Archivist / Friday 23 October 2015 / Heritage News
The Stonehenge Tourist Guide

Hog roasts a favourite for Stonehenge locals in 25th century BC

Site near Stonehenge continues to throw light on ancient Britons' daily lives, including culinary habits

Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

Hog roasts and cheese were among the favourite dishes eaten by a community living close to Stonehenge during the 25th century BC, according to a recent study published by the University of York.
Researchers found compelling evidence on ancient Britons' culinary habits by analysing the archaeological site at Durrington Walls, a late Neolithic monument in Wiltshire.
DNA evidence found on the remains of pottery pointed to mass-consumption of whole-roasted pigs and cows, while dairy products such as cheeses, yoghurts and milk, found in lesser quantities, seem to have been reserved for the elite or ceremonial use.
Durrington Walls was recently uncovered as the largest preserved stone monument in Britain, thought to have been built 4,500 years ago.
According to the study, it was most probably used as a settlement for workers who built Stonehenge. However, unlike Stonehenge, which was primarily a burial place, Durrington Walls was the site of a lively community, which explains why archaeologists have been able to find more than 11,000 fragments of food-related items such as animal bones and pottery.
Professor Mike Parker Pearson, of University College London and director of the Feeding Stonehenge project, said: "This new research has given us a fantastic insight into the organisation of large-scale feasting among the people who built Stonehenge. Animals were brought from all over Britain to be barbecued and cooked in open-air mass gatherings."
The study shines a light on working patterns as well. With cattle brought in from across Britain and extensive feasting patterns, the study concludes that this was a slave-free community, with volunteers making up the bulk of the population.
Dr Oliver Craig, reader in archaeological science at the University of York and lead author on the paper, also points out that evidence of food-sharing at Durrington Walls shows a "greater degree of culinary organisation than was expected for this period of British prehistory". He adds: "The inhabitants and many visitors to this site possessed a shared understanding of how foods should be prepared, consumed and disposed."

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Stonehenge Tourist Guide

Stonehenge visitor guide: advice, tickets, parking and tours

Our UK expert's guide to visiting Stonehenge, including information on parking, buses, tickets, prices, tours, the best time of year to go and nearby hotels and restaurants

There's a carnival atmosphere during the winter and summer solstices, when entrance is free Photo: GETTY

Cremation ground? Sun worship site? Alien landing pad? The sight of Stonehenge with its broken circle of stones and mighty central trilithons standing in apparent isolation on Salisbury Plain has been mesmerising travellers for centuries. Right now it’s enjoying a renaissance, partly because its 1960s concrete excrescences have been swept away and replaced with an airy visitor centre a mile down the road, returning the stones to their full glory and explaining what is known of their story, but also because new finds and interpretations are announced all the time. The latest discovery of huge buried stones underneath the henge at Durrington Walls, a couple of miles away, reinforces the idea that Stonehenge is one component of a planned Neolithic landscape on a vast scale.

How to get there

Public transport: Green Traveller has made a video on getting to Stonehenge without using a car, including by bike, see greentraveller.co.uk/blog/travel-avebury-and-stonehenge-without-car

Bus: The Stonehenge Tour (01202 338420; thestonehengetour.info) leaves from Salisbury, 10 miles/15km to the south, which has a mainline railway station. Bus only costs £14 adults, £9 children 5-15 or £40 families (up to two adults and three children) and including entry to Stonehenge and the hilltop site of Old Sarum £27, £17 or £78. You can pay extra to add Salisbury Cathedral entry. The first bus leaves Salisbury at 10am and the last one leaves Stonehenge at 6pm in autumn and 4pm in winter (hours are longer in summer, so check nearer the time.)

Vehicle: The visitor centre and car park (free for ticketholders) sit to the north of the A303, where the A360 and B3086 meet at Airman’s Corner. In summer traffic can back up to the Countess Roundabout: it may be worth westbound drivers taking the back route via the B3086 and the Packway south to Airman’s Corner.

Tour or no tour?

Interpretation and signage at the visitor centre are excellent, but audio guides for adults (£2) and for families (£6) are available on site (pick them up before you get the shuttle to the stones) or you can download them free onto your device from the App Store or Play Store. For an in-depth guide to the stones and their broader context, Blue Badge Tourist Guides can be booked from approximately £230 per day. Stonehenge Guided Tours offer daily guided tours of Stonehenge and many include 'special access' tours.

Highlights for adults

Getting off the shuttle halfway, at Fargo Plantation, and wandering through the trees to see the mysterious – and much older - oblong ditch known as The Cursus, before approaching the stones as they should be approached (if possible): on foot.

Highlights for children

Seeing the recreated face of a 5,000-year old Neolithic man in the visitor centre and then being able to play in his house (the Neolithic village outside, based on remains found at Durrington Walls, often with re-enactors and demonstrations.)

Inside the new visitor centre  Photo: GETTY

Best time to visit

Winter. At the end of the day, to catch the sun going down behind the stones to the southwest – even better if it’s frosty. And of course the winter and summer solstices, when entrance is free, but you have to contend with mighty crowds.

Where to eat

The café in the visitor centre is light and bright with long wooden tables and decent food: you have to try the rock cakes, obviously, and the kitchen produces soups, sandwiches and salads and uses lots of produce from local suppliers.
For a pub lunch, drive six miles for a roaring fire and Sunday roasts at the Swan at Enford (theswanenford.co.uk) or a bit further for homemade food at the excellent Red Lion Freehouse at East Chisenbury (redlionfreehouse.com).

Stonehenge is enjoying a renaissance thanks to a new discovery at Durrington Walls  Photo: GETTY

 Best view

Pass the entrance to the stones and follow the fence round to the north, veering down the faint parallel lines in the grass known as The Avenue. About 100 yards downhill, turn and look back to see the stones silhouetted against the sky.

Tips

Park at Woodhenge Car Park (english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/woodhenge) near Durrington Walls and walk to Stonehenge across National Trust land. It takes about an hour, at a leisurely pace. Irritatingly, you have to walk past the stones to validate your tickets at the visitor centre, then double back.

Costs/contacts/opening hours

Stonehenge, Amesbury, Wiltshire SP4 7DE (0370 333 1181; english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/Stonehenge) opens daily 9.30am to 7pm (March to October to March) and 9.30am to 5pm (October to March). Gift Aid tickets bought online cost £16 adults aged 16-59, £9.60 children aged 5-15 (infants free), £14.40 concessions (16-17 years or over 60s) and £41.60 families (up to two adults and three children). Tickets are timed entry. English Heritage and National Trust members and carers for disabled visitor must book their free tickets in advance.

By Sophie Campbell - The Telegraph

The Stonehenge Tourist Guide